General Education Courses Overview

What are General Education Courses?

General education courses are a set of course requirements that allow you to build a foundation of knowledge across a variety of subjects. In California, you will take English, Math, Ethnic Studies, Arts, Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Biological and Physical Sciences. 

Your lower division requirements are made up of mostly general education courses and some major courses.

Are general education courses at community college the same as at a university?

While a general education course might be called a different name, for the most part, general education courses at a university are the same general education courses at a community college. This is why attending community college to take your lower division requirements is such a smart choice.

An introduction to math course or a Spanish 1 course will be almost identical at a community college as it will be at a university. The main difference is that at community college, the course is free or very affordable.

As well as saving money, taking general education courses at a community college allows you to learn about the subject in a small class size environment. Because every freshman has to take English 101 or Introduction to Biology, universities have to set up large classes to meet the needs of their students. This means that while you have an English 101 class with 30 people at community college in a small classroom, students at a university are taking the same course in a room full of 500 students in a large lecture hall.

Take general education courses at community college.

General education is a requirement that you don’t get to choose. You can choose which courses you want to select to meet each requirement, but bottom line: you have to take general education courses. If you have to take these courses, community college is a smart place to take them!

Plan your general education courses on EdVisorly!